How important is the Dental School you go to, for specializing

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akinyi

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Hi

Does anyone know how important the reputation of the dental school you go to is? Would going to a school like Columbia (95% rate of students successfully get into post grad) be a wiser choice if I would like to specialize, as opposed to taking an offer from another school (not Ivy League)? I have a scholarship at my state school and the fees difference is about 100,000, and Columbia happens to be the more expensive of the two.


Any advise?

Would incurring a higher debt be worth the long term benefits?

Thanks

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Go to the less expensive school! That's 100k plus 6.8% interest we're talking about. The name of your school doesn't matter for specialization. What matters is your GPA, extracurriculars and LORs.
 
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Would incurring a higher debt be worth the long term benefits?

Thanks

Short answer? No.

Long answer? HELL NOOOOOOOOOO.

I went to NYU. Glad I did -- great education and tremendous experiences. But I wake up every morning with 300k in debt. It's a mortgage without the house. Manageable but burdensome. I wish I had the option of going to my state school like you do - I would have done that in a heartbeat.
 
I like how people endlessly research the reliability and history of that used car. I like how people take the time to cut coupons, or even turn the lights off in a room to save some electricity. I also like how some of these people consider paying 100K more for dental school because it has a "better" name. I don't get it. lol
 
If you definitely want to specialize than yes.

yes you can specialize from everywhere but frankly your odds are much better at a school like columbia. 50% of the class matches into competitive specialties. Each year around ten students match ortho and ten students match OS. Its nuts. Have fun trying to be top 5 at your state school.

100 k is a lot for sure, but as a specialist its possible to be making that much more every year. Its a risk reward decision
 
If you definitely want to specialize than yes.

yes you can specialize from everywhere but frankly your odds are much better at a school like columbia. 50% of the class matches into competitive specialties. Each year around ten students match ortho and ten students match OS. Its nuts. Have fun trying to be top 5 at your state school.

100 k is a lot for sure, but as a specialist its possible to be making that much more every year. Its a risk reward decision

so what you're implying is you can specialize at a p/f school without honoring in anything? (serious question)
 
not sure about specializing when honoring nothing. However its certainly a possibility without honoring everything. All I know is that 50% of each year specializes here and its not always the top fifty percent since some of the top students still go on to GP.
 
i can confirm that last year's ortho match (14 from columbia) contained a few from the bottom 3rd of the class.
 
I like how people endlessly research the reliability and history of that used car. I like how people take the time to cut coupons, or even turn the lights off in a room to save some electricity. I also like how some of these people consider paying 100K more for dental school because it has a "better" name. I don't get it. lol

then why didnt you go to stony brook? it is cheaper than Uconn right?
The point is, dont be a hypocrite.
 
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then why didnt you go to stony brook? it is cheaper than Uconn right?
The point is, dont be a hypocrite.

Lol, you serious? I did my homework on Stony Brook before I applied (especially on cost). I did not apply there for a few reasons:

1. I had not taken my DAT, and felt that I would not be competitive there (I was expecting around a 19-20 AA) because of Stony Brook's 21AA class average vs UConn's 20AA.
2. Stony Brook accepts only about 15% of their OOS applicants (vs UConn's 50%), and of those OOS who do get in are nearly all are from New England. I am from Washington.
3. Cost is damn near the same for both, with UConn being a little cheaper actually. ($255,907 for Stony Brook, vs $246,964 for UConn from ADEA handbook)
4. I leave the lights on, and I don't cut coupons

I think it is clear that I am not being hypocritical at all. :thumbup:
 
Lol, you serious? I did my homework on Stony Brook before I applied (especially on cost). I did not apply there for a few reasons:

1. I had not taken my DAT, and felt that I would not be competitive there (I was expecting around a 19-20 AA) because of Stony Brook's 21AA class average vs UConn's 20AA.
2. Stony Brook accepts only about 15% of their OOS applicants (vs UConn's 50%), and of those OOS who do get in are nearly all are from New England. I am from Washington.
3. Cost is damn near the same for both, with UConn being a little cheaper actually. ($255,907 for Stony Brook, vs $246,964 for UConn from ADEA handbook)
4. I leave the lights on, and I don't cut coupons

I think it is clear that I am not being hypocritical at all. :thumbup:

compared to NYU, yep these are cheaper. Thats kinda odd that u'dub rejected you though
 
compared to NYU, yep these are cheaper. Thats kinda odd that u'dub rejected you though

:idea: NYU was probably a safety school...

Kinda odd that you came in here looking to point out would-be hypocrites...looking to justify the $350k reaming you opted for at Columbia??
 
compared to NYU, yep these are cheaper. Thats kinda odd that u'dub rejected you though

Lol, yeah. I think you missed the point of my first comment though... The OP has been accepted into two programs, and of those two I would strongly recommend the cheaper option because of the 100K difference. I think its crazy that people spend so much time scrounging for a few extra dollars here and there when there are also a lot of the same people thinking about blowing an extra 100K based on a schools reputation - hence my comment.

BTW, I applied to NYU only because I thought I would be competitive there. I would not apply to a bunch of the cheapest schools if I did not have a good chance of getting in. For example, I did not apply to any of the Texas schools for this reason. Essentially, I applied to schools that I thought I would get into. From those that I was accepted, I chose the cheapest option.

The UW thing has been beaten to death already in other threads lol :thumbup:
 
:idea: NYU was probably a safety school...

Kinda odd that you came in here looking to point out would-be hypocrites...looking to justify the $350k reaming you opted for at Columbia??

A few things: 1) Columbia costs 280k, its the 2nd cheapest private, cheaper than
ucla or stony brook ( not willing to change my state) or my other choices.

2) There are things in life you cannot put a price tag on, being at Columbia is
one of those: very friendly, patient, and caring faculty. Strong support
system from classmates and upperclassmen. Challenging and rich
curriculum that not only develops your hand skills, but teaches you the
medical background you need to take care of your medicallycompromised
patients. Opportunities to be involved with faculty, observe different cases
and presenting those cases. Opportunities to do MPH, MA with no cost.
World-class faculty, its pretty damn awesome to get lectures from nobel
prize laureates or giants like Tarnow in dentistry. And the list goes on and
on and on .....


Lastly, I'm not a hypocrite cause I dont tell ppl to go to the cheapest school, I recommend going to dental schools, with good name which are known to take care of students and respect them as human beings. I like UW or UTSA, UOP cause these are school with good names, no matter what the cost is.
 
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A few things: 1) Columbia costs 280k, its the 2nd cheapest private, cheaper than
ucla or stony brook ( not willing to change my state) or my other choices.

2) There are things in life you cannot put a price tag on, being at Columbia is
one of those: very friendly, patient, and caring faculty. Strong support
system from classmates and upperclassmen. Challenging and rich
curriculum that not only develops your hand skills, but teaches you the
medical background you need to take care of your medicallycompromised
patients. Opportunities to be involved with faculty, observe different cases
and presenting those cases. Opportunities to do MPH, MA with no cost.
World-class faculty, its pretty damn awesome to get lectures from nobel
prize laureates or giants like Tarnow in dentistry. And the list goes on and
on and on .....


Lastly, I'm not a hypocrite cause I dont tell ppl to go to the cheapest school, I recommend going to dental schools, with good name which are known to take care of students and respect them as human beings. I like UW or UTSA, UOP cause these are school with good names, no matter what the cost is.

I am glad to hear that you love your school! Have you attended any other dental school to compare the curriculum is at Columbia vs another school? Every school has good and bad points. I don't really care if my professor is a high profile science genius, or just a "regular" professor as long as they help me effectively learn the material. TBH, I would probably prefer the lecture from the "regular" professor over the high profile one... Also no, I cannot put a price on a school's reputation, however I know that if I could, it would be far less than 100K.

On a side note, each graduating class at every dental school can be very different. For example at school X, the class of 2016 could be totally chill and very supportive of each other, while the class of 2015 is full of gunners. This means that much (note: not all) of the atmosphere in your dental school is the product of your classmates, not the school itself.

I believe that if you are a strong student and you were accepted into a very selective program, you have the ability to specialize wherever you go. Yes, the school can help you specialize, but only to an extent. This is a prime example of causation reversal. Columbia does not have the ability to make a student specialize; it is the students that Columbia accepts that have the ability to specialize. I believe that the majority of a student's ability to specialize is embedded in the student's work ethic and academic abilities, not in the school they attend. OP: I hope this helps address your original question. :thumbup:
 
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Lastly, I'm not a hypocrite cause I dont tell ppl to go to the cheapest school, I recommend going to dental schools, with good name which are known to take care of students and respect them as human beings. I like UW or UTSA, UOP cause these are school with good names, no matter what the cost is.

false:

"Here is something you've probably read 1,000,000 times:

Go to the cheaper schoooooooooooooooooollll

To specialize, you gotta work haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaard , nomatter where you go

not either or, but do both"

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=11902349#post11902349
 
wait, how is columbia cheaper than stony brook oos?

i interviewed at all 3 and remember calculating that stony brook was if not one of the cheapest schools, still much cheaper than columbia, even for an OOS. and was slightly MORE expensive (something like 30k total more) than UCLA (instate).

and why wouldn't you change your state?
A few things: 1) Columbia costs 280k, its the 2nd cheapest private, cheaper than
ucla or stony brook ( not willing to change my state) or my other choices.

2) There are things in life you cannot put a price tag on, being at Columbia is
one of those: very friendly, patient, and caring faculty. Strong support
system from classmates and upperclassmen. Challenging and rich
curriculum that not only develops your hand skills, but teaches you the
medical background you need to take care of your medicallycompromised
patients. Opportunities to be involved with faculty, observe different cases
and presenting those cases. Opportunities to do MPH, MA with no cost.
World-class faculty, its pretty damn awesome to get lectures from nobel
prize laureates or giants like Tarnow in dentistry. And the list goes on and
on and on .....


Lastly, I'm not a hypocrite cause I dont tell ppl to go to the cheapest school, I recommend going to dental schools, with good name which are known to take care of students and respect them as human beings. I like UW or UTSA, UOP cause these are school with good names, no matter what the cost is.
 
false:

"Here is something you've probably read 1,000,000 times:

Go to the cheaper schoooooooooooooooooollll

To specialize, you gotta work haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaard , nomatter where you go

not either or, but do both"

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=11902349#post11902349


HAHAHAHAHA Maryland, Penn and Tufts, the cost is the same for the OP and three schools that are known for good specialization rates. You guys are great in taking bits and pieces and assemble them to make up a whole new story. The point is to get into good residency, you gotta be smart enough and work hard to get in. There are two basic rules for every body , save money when you can and work hard. Now, if you prefer to save 100k and not go to Harvard and experience that school, thats your choice. Again, I'm not a hypocrite cause all these cost about the same. Regarding my life, I care more about the school I go to rather than money. I just dont care about money thats all
 
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hey tool, use a normal sized font.
 
Decorum, people, decorum. Or else I'm shutting this down.

To the OP:
some schools have a "rep" for specializing, but if you really wanted to do it and liked another school better you can. most people will tell you to go to the cheapest school possible. this is pretty good advice since specializing sometimes is for tuition and not for salary (perio, ortho, endo vs pedo, OS). another way to look at it is if you get into a school and then somehow don't get into a specialty, then how well did they train you for being a general dentist? cause being a gp is a pretty good back up plan, and hey you might end up wanting to do that anyway. and a good specialist should know general dentistry concepts pretty well in most cases since you're going to be dealing with referrers and restorative treatment plans, etc. all food for thought. good luck!
 
hey tool, use a normal sized font.

Well, needed to make sure you see every word.

Some guy sent a private message saying he had 180 k loan from undergrad and masters, now he was wondering if its a good idea to take another 300k for dental school. Obviously I, like every body else said go to the cheaper school.

But to take that from another thread and present it to "pwn" a username on sdn ?! why ?
The point is to provide information to people from different parts of the country so they dont pick a dental school out of blue.

There was a time, people actually contributed positively on SDN. Now its just a bunch of people fighting cause they disagree with you. :(
 
Well, needed to make sure you see every word.

Some guy sent a private message saying he had 180 k loan from undergrad and masters, now he was wondering if its a good idea to take another 300k for dental school. Obviously I, like every body else said go to the cheaper school.

But to take that from another thread and present it to "pwn" a username on sdn ?! why ?
The point is to provide information to people from different parts of the country so they dont pick a dental school out of blue.

There was a time, people actually contributed positively on SDN. Now its just a bunch of people fighting cause they disagree with you. :(

People can read normal sized font just fine lol

Also, I'm pretty sure you were the instigator here. You tried to call me a hypocrite when I clearly have continuity in my posts. Either way, lets put this behind us, and lets try to be civil. :)

OP: I hope your question has been answered, but if not please let us know. :thumbup:
 
People can read normal sized font just fine lol

Also, I'm pretty sure you were the instigator here. You tried to call me a hypocrite when I clearly have continuity in my posts. Either way, lets put this behind us, and lets try to be civil. :)

OP: I hope your question has been answered, but if not please let us know. :thumbup:

:thumbup:



Now I know why armorshell avoids this sort of discussions. Armor, bow to your experience;)
 
Here is the bottom line....

The Harvards will tell you that the ivys and the "big names" are more suited for specializing.

The state-schoolers will tell you otherwise.

The real answer is, who the hell really knows. Just because certain schools push a good number of their graduates into competitive specialities DOESN'T necessarily mean its the school.... it could a combination of the school PLUS the type of students (natural gunners) they attract?
 
If you're good enough to specialize, you're going to specialize anywhere you go.

It is 100% on the individual. Not 99%. 100%.
 
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